The rage of Alexander Zverev, a result of helplessness and fear

Diego Jiménez Rubio | 15 May 2025 | 10.23

Alexander Zverev, crisis and attitude. Photo: gettyimages

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We have all experienced the feeling of missing the opportunity to do something important, feeling that we had chances to reach glory only to see it slowly fading away, irreversibly. Alexander Zverev may be realizing that the train to paradise has passed, and the anger and helplessness shown in recent months are clear symptoms of it.

When excitement turns into obsession, things go wrong. Tennis is a sport where the line between the aspirations that drive you to be better and the unpostponable goals that generate anguish and frustration if not achieved is very thin, and Alexander Zverev may have crossed it. He might still have bullets in the chamber to conquer that coveted Grand Slam, but the truth is that he is not displaying the right attitude to face a stage of his sports career that almost stands as an ultimatum.

- Zverev has faltered at the peak moments of his career, and his hopeful goals have turned into an obsession for him.

Losing three Grand Slam finals might not be easy, especially considering how it happened. Sascha must feel that all his daily work throughout a lifetime would only gain special meaning if he lifts a title of such magnitude, and having been so close to it, at the US Open 2020 and at Roland Garros 2024, only generates extra frustration. It would be unfair to criticize the competitive mindset of a player who has been world number 2 and a champion of multiple Masters 1000, as well as the ATP Finals, but the truth is he hesitated a lot when he was closest to his goal.

I need to let this out about Zverev.

I think he lost his way a long time ago. For a year and a half, he's been blaming the world for his mistakes.

He lost the Roland Garros final because of a bounce that, according to him, touched the line, but the referee said it didn't. In the Latin America tour, he didn't win due to...
— José Morón (@jmgmoron) May 15, 2025

This has been eroding his confidence, and what happened after Sinner's doping sanction has only increased the anguish in Zverev. The German had everything in his favor to become world number 1, another of his supreme goals, but he fell prey again to stage fright, to the vertigo of glory. The lack of confidence generated by his defeats against Cerúndolo (twice), Comesaña, Tien, Griekspoor, Fils, and Berrettini threatens to shatter his aspirations at Roland Garros 2025. It seemed like an event fit for him, considering that Sinner would arrive with little rhythm and Alcaraz was showing doubts before the clay court season, but currently, the German's mindset for the Parisian tournament is far from the best.

- Sascha feels that his best times may be coming to an end, facing the emergence of a new generation.

Distracted on the court, with no tactical solutions, doubtful with his forehand, irate with his opponents, looking for external responsibilities with outcries about the court, the balls, and even his rivals' styles... Alexander Zverev sees how a new generation of players keeps growing and threatens his status, while he shows a certain tennis stagnation and mental saturation.

Emerging with the responsibility of leading the generation meant to dethrone the Big 3 was hard to manage, and not only failing at it but witnessing how Medvedev has taken more advantage of the natural decline of the great legends of our sport has generated immense frustration in Zverev, further increased now by seeing how the time when he seemed destined to dominate is invaded by new upcoming legends.

- Impotence, frustration, and fear are what transpires from his tennis and attitude for months now.

It seemed that there was a parenthesis where Sascha could reign, before Alcaraz and Sinner became fully consistent, and players like Draper, Musetti, Rune, Mensik, Shelton, Fils or later Fonseca took the final qualitative leap, but the truth is that all of them are progressing rapidly, rapidly narrowing the level gap that separated them from the German.

The results, the game, and the attitude of Alexander Zverev in recent months highlight a terrible impotence to solve an inexorable problem. The German feels the tide rising, and he cannot swim; he is isolated by a torrent of water that can sweep away his aspirations, and his mind is haunted, time and again, by flashbacks of what could have been and was not, due to minor details. It is in his hands to earn himself a new opportunity, but many things must change in his mind, and quickly. Time is not on his side.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, La rabia de Alexander Zverev, fruto de la impotencia y el miedo